Local News

Grape yields weren’t great across the state last year, but one Washington winery could reach a broader audience than ever in 2013, thanks in part to increased distribution, a bucolic setting and clever marketing tactics.
The six-acre wooded site of Horseshoe Bend Winery is tucked away off Lawson Lane near Willisburg in northern Washington County. It’s a popular destination along the Kentucky Wine Trail, which stretches hundreds of miles to encompass more than 60 state wineries — including at least six sites in and around Washington County.

A Willisburg man, who pleaded guilty last year to repeatedly sexually assaulting his juvenile stepdaughter, says he was failed by the judicial system and nearly died at the hands of incompetent jail house medics.
After serving 180 days in the Marion County Detention Center for his crimes, Bobby Lee Hudson, 68, is now releasing details he said were never heard by Washington County circuit-court mediators. He maintains his innocence and said he was silenced by court-appointed defenders and coaxed by prosecutors to accept a plea bargain.

A Springfield farmer says he found his prized calf shot dead and butchered on a neighbor’s property Saturday.
He’s offering a reward for anyone with information that leads to an arrest in the case.
Tim Graves, of Rudd Lane, told The Springfield Sun that his three-month old Senepol heifer had been missing for more than a week.
He later found its butchered remains about 30 feet from his own property line.
The calf had apparently been shot and skinned, he said.

American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Washington County will launch its annual fundraising and awareness campaign 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 17, at the UK Cooperative Extension Office, 211 Progress Ave.

Volunteers and relay participants will gather for a soup cook-off. Teams will collect votes for their soup in the form of donations.

“We want everyone to come,” said Vickie Grassman, senior community representative for the American Cancer Society.

Washington County religious leaders, officials, students and others will mark the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with ceremonies across the county this Sunday and Monday.

Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Springfield will pay tribute in song and worship with a Sunday Mass beginning at noon.

“We have a gospel choir that’s singing and the kids are going to read a few pieces about his life and sing a song at the end of the service,” said Pam Grundy, director of religious education at the church.

Last week, the 2013 Kentucky General Assembly convened for the four-day organizational week and at the top of the agenda when session resumes on Feb. 5 will be finding a solution to the pension plan for state employees.

An estimated $33 billion in pension money is without funding and both of Washington County’s representatives in Frankfort said correcting the issue will take bipartisan effort.

Ernest William Singleton, 44, was arrested Monday and charged with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and conspiracy to launder funds.

Singleton is the owner of Double D Farm in Willsburg and records show he once operated several pain clinics , including Central Kentucky Bariatric and Pain Management Center, formerly in Georgetown and Grant County Wellness Clinic, formerly in Dry Ridge.

Two are dead after an apparent murder-suicide Sunday night at a northern Washington County residence.

William Woodford, 52, and his 58-year-old mother-in-law, Phyllis Tarter, both of Washington County were pronounced dead early Sunday morning. Autopsies are pending at the State Medical Examiner’s office in Frankort, but investigators say it’s possible Woodford shot Tarter before killing himself.